


Hang On, Baby

by Alyson



Category: Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Angst with a Happy Ending, Canon-Typical Violence, First Time, Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-05-07 06:48:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,398
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19204087
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alyson/pseuds/Alyson
Summary: When an away mission goes wrong, Dr. McCoy is caught in the crossfire, and Kirk will do anything to get him out of there and back to the Enterprise.





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the 2019 Star Trek Reverse Big Bang. My first time participating and I'm so excited! I was inspired by the wonderful artwork of animetrashmuffin and was so glad I got to write this story. I hope it's up to snuff!   
> Also, I don't know what the naming conventions usually are in this event, but I really liked the name for the artwork, so I used if for the story title as well :D.

“Jim, I'm going to be fine,” McCoy huffed as he tried to pack. 

They were in orbit around Adalis V, a Federation colony on the edge of explored space. They had only been established three years before and they were still lacking key medical personnel and facilities. While the Federation sent regular shipments of supplies and had been slowly building up the resources of the fledgling colony, they were in no way prepared for the virus that had spread amongst the mostly human inhabitants.

“Why do you have to go?” the Captain of the Enterprise did not whine. “You said it was a simple virus, no worse than the common cold, and it had 'run its course' with the first of the infected.”

“It's a simple alien virus, Jim,” McCoy replied with the tone of one who had gone over the topic before. “It's never been seen in humans. This time it's pretty well harmless. Next time it could mutate and make Old Earth's bubonic plague look like a summer picnic. Among other things, I'm a virologist. This is my job.”

“You're the Enterprise's CMO, I need you here.”

'I need you here with me' was what he really wanted to say. Jim sat on the bed, all but kicking his feet, and feeling about two feet tall in the face of the man scuttling around him, trying to pack his things in a duffle, leaving. This wasn't unusual. They had both gone on missions without the other before, but lately.... Lately Jim Kirk had been pining for his best friend. It would have been embarrassing to actually admit it, to tell him that that was the reason he didn't want him to go. But, he wondered, if maybe he should.

“Stop acting like someone stole your puppy, and stay out of that!”

“Sorry,” the Captain also did not blush as he put back the blue tunic he had pulled from Leonard's bag, into his lap and was picking at. McCoy gave an irritated huff and refolded the insulted item before putting it back again.

“Jim, stop fretting. You're going to be so busy escorting those ambassadors you won't have time to realize I'm gone before I'm back.”

“You mean I'll be so bored and annoyed,” he sighed, flopping back onto the bed he was sitting on. “And bored.”

“Spock will keep you company.”

“Ha.”

“Hey, you picked him. Now come on. I'm ready to go. It's time for me to go be a doctor and it's time for you to collect your dignity and be the captain.”

“Overrated.”

“Agreed, but here we are.”

Done putting off the inevitable, James Kirk sat up and pulled the mantel of command back around him. As he escorted his best friend and CMO through the corridors of the Enterprise, no one would have imagined he had just thrown a petulant fit. It was an indulgence that only the man who had been by his side for years would ever be privy to. He thought again of how his feelings had changed over the years and he watched the other man's profile in his peripheral, but decided it wasn't the time.

*~*~*~*

“Captain Kirk,” the Ambassador from Delta called as he approached the Captain, looking down his nose from his height of 6'5”. “When will we be on our way?”

“We're leaving orbit right now,” he replied as he brushed past the other male, striding with purpose towards the turbolift. 

“We have a deadline, Captain, as I'm sure you are...”

“...aware, yes, I'm aware of ALL of my duties, Ambassador, as I am sure you are aware of the Federation's policy on supporting new colonies. Especially one with a medical crisis. Now, if you'll take this corridor to the right, you'll fine Recreation Room One where the ongoing reception and mixer for all the Ambassadors is happening. You wouldn't want to miss a chance to speak with your fellow Ambassadors. I, unfortunately, am due on the Bridge. Sir.”

He disappeared into the 'lift, managing not to run the last few feet.

*~*~*~*

McCoy hadn't actually wanted to go any more than Jim had wanted him to go. Sure, the prospect of a new virus was fascinating, but he would have been happier collecting samples to take back to the Enterprise and her much better equipment and study it in his own lab with his own people right where he could take care of his own crew. And Jim. The Captain could be a menace to himself some days, and if he was bored, it was compounded.

Mostly, though, it was the little fact that Bones didn't like leaving the Captain alone with a delegation that included attractive beings. It was silly, really. Even if he were there, Jim would go off and do whomever Jim wanted to. Not that he'd be unprofessional, and McCoy had to admit that since being given his own command, Jim didn't run off with dignitaries. He saved that for shore leave and debriefings at HQ, when he wasn't the big wig in charge. But, much to his shame and embarrassment, it still bothered McCoy.

It wasn't like he'd ever said anything. His crush on his best friend had snuck up on him unexpectedly. If pressed, he might say it started after he brought Kirk back to life after the warp core incident. Two weeks spent over the other man's bed, holding his hand and holding back tears, praying to deities he normally wouldn't acknowledge, had left his heart an aching mess and jealousy souring his stomach every time someone turned Jim's head. But he knew it had to have started sooner, it just didn't rear its ugly head until then.

His feelings, however, didn't matter. Not when it came to Jim and not when it came to the mission at hand. He had a job; that hadn't been a lie he was telling his Captain. He had a job, a responsibility, and he was going to fulfill it.

He stepped away from the colony's transporter building and into a civil war.

*~*~*~*

“Mr. Spock,” Jim greeted, doing his best to not show his relief at being back on the bridge. “How's my ship?”

Commander Spock stood and stepped away from the center seat, taking his place by the Captain's left elbow. Jim glanced to his right out of the corner of his eye, feeling the Doctor's absence keenly. It had been a slow burn over the years, but ever since the Narada, Jim felt when Leonard was gone from the ship, and from his side, more and more intensely. It was getting harder to not just tell him that things had changed, HE had changed, and he never wanted him far from his side. 

He knew he was being ridiculous. They had work to do and that meant leaving the ship and being apart. And what would McCoy say? He'd laugh, tell Jim he was his best friend, but that was it and that's not how best friends behave. It would be just like earlier, except worse. He would stop finding it humorous. He would find it pathetic. He was supposed to be the Captain, not a love sick fool.

“We are ready to leave orbit,” Spock reported.

“Good. The Ambassadors are getting antsy.”

“I have noticed,” Spock agreed cooly, though Kirk could tell there was a little annoyance hidden behind the level words. “I have received twenty-three missives....”

“Captain, there's a distress call from the surface,” Uhura interrupted, her voice tight with stress. 

“Put it on the main viewer,” he ordered, sounding calmer than he felt. What the hell?

The main viewscreen shifted from an image of the deceptively calm planet turning below them to a panicked looking older man.

“Enterprise,” he panted. “Thank god you haven't left orbit yet.”

“President Voroe,” Kirk greeted quickly, barely keeping the panic from his voice. “What's going on?”

“We're being attacked!”

“What? By who?”

“The settlement over the ridge, to the north of the colony.”

By this point Jim had left his chair to stand behind Sulu, who was scanning the surface for their crew member's comm signal. It was lost in the miasma of energy weapon's fire and running humanoids, all overlaid by interference from the planet's atmosphere.

“Where's Doctor McCoy,” Kirk demanded, losing any semblance of patience.

“We don't know, Captain,” the President confessed. “All hell broke loose shortly after we got the signal that he had arrived and was on his way to the medical center.”

“When this is over, you're going to explain to me and the Federation why this settlement was not reported,” Kirk stated, his voice harsh with anger and authority. “Stay put.”

With a nod, Spock and Sulu joined him in the turbolift, Chekov leaving his post to take the center seat.

“Security is meeting us in the transporter room,” Spock reported. Kirk simply nodded.

They arrived to find two dozen security officers hefting phaser rifles and Scotty ready with the same for the three officers. Once he had armed his Captain, First Officer and Helmsman, and orders to stun and take into custody when possible were given, he took his place behind the transporter controls and began sending groups of security down to coordinates sent in by the bridge as Mr. Chekov continued to scan the surface and pick defensible areas for them to beam into and be under cover while still in the midst of the fighting.

“Beam us to Dr. McCoy's last coordinates,” the Captain ordered as he stepped onto the pad, flanked by Spock and Sulu. “We're bringing him home.”


	2. Two

Leonard didn't know what happened. One minute he was exiting the building that contained the colony's transporter and was following a path that circumvented a field that looked to have just been tilled and was ready to be planted, heading to a series of temporary buildings that the report said contained the medical center, and the next he was on the ground, a searing pain in his chest. He felt around desperately for his med kit, but it was no where to be found. Whatever happened, it had been ripped from his body, and he was left without even a hypo.

Around him, there was shouting, screams, the sounds of phaser fire. Feet stomped past him, barely missing stomping on him, kicking dirt up into his face. The smell of the fresh turned earth, oddly, reminded him of home. The smell of charred flesh, that he realized was emanating from him, did not. He looked down his body and for a moment was hit with a blinding wave of panic. His uniform shirt was melted away from his chest, just above his solar plexus, but by some miracle, not right over his heart. The skin beneath was blistered, some blackened, blood welling up to the surface. It couldn't have been a direct hit, but it was incredibly painful and was starting to bleed faster.

If he had been his patient, he would have been trying his best to stop the bleeding. As it was, in other circumstances, he'd be trying to stop his own bleeding, but the phaser fire over his head told him that wasn't his first priority. He lifted his head just enough to look around. The closest shelter was the building he had just exited, but the door wasn't in a direct line from where the shot had thrown him to the ground.

Leonard began to maneuver himself backwards, dragging his body by elbows and heels, keeping himself on his back and as low to the ground as possible. This also meant he couldn't see where he was going. He quickly ran into something that was in his path and he twisted his head around to find himself face to face with the blank stare of a colonist. He twisted his arm around, reaching for the man's neck, trying to feel a pulse, the wound on his chest objecting to the movement, but the man hadn't been as lucky as him. With a grunt, he adjusted his direction enough to pull himself around the body and keep heading towards shelter.

It felt like an eternity. The initial screaming and shouting around him had faded until he was certain who ever was attacking had made it over to the temporary buildings, or possibly the permanent ones; the administration building and the residences. Regardless, he didn't want to be caught out in the open, so he continued his slow, torturous progress, his vision beginning to tunnel and his breathing becoming more and more difficult. Finally, he found himself up against the building and he pulled himself around the corner.

It was a crappy shelter. The building didn't even have proper landscaping to try and hide behind. The best he could do was drag himself to the side of the building to make it take a little longer for someone to find him if they started looking for strays. All they had to do was walk around the side of the building. It was the best he could do and what he needed to do now was assess his situation and see if he could do anything to help himself without a med kit.

Trying to sit up turned out to be a mistake. Leonard's vision faded dangerously and he slumped back to the ground. Trying to pull off his tunic to use as a makeshift bandage was a no go either. He couldn't lift his arms. It looked like his desperate journey had taken what little strength he had. He had nothing left. With a wave of panic and a last thought of Jim Kirk - what would happen to the kid if he didn't make it back?- he faded into the darkness.

*~*~*~*

“Building's clear,” Sulu announced shortly after rematerializing and doing a visual scan of their surroundings. It didn't take long. There was only the small three disc transporter pad, the control terminal and one door. It took just a moment to see no one was hiding. It also took that long to determine that the Doctor was not in the room, either.

They carefully exited the building, noting that the fighting seemed to have moved on to the main part of the settlement, but all three officers were on high alert, the Commander and Lieutenant protecting their Captain. Their Captain, who was preoccupied with searching for his missing friend.

“Over here,” Jim called lowly, finding a spot just off the path where the dirt had been tossed up, disturbed. Kneeling down, he dug around a found something that made his heart drop in to the hollow of his stomach. Partially buried, McCoy's med kit, the strap burned in half. Spock inspected the ground around where Jim was kneeling, trusting Sulu to keep an eye out.

“These marks lead back to the side of the transporter building,” he commented, tilting his head in the direction he meant. “It looks as if the Doctor was moving on his own power, keeping low. These are not exactly drag marks.”

“That's good,” Jim sighed, then ducked when a bolt of energy went over his head, missing him by a wide margin but still startling him.

Without a word, Spock and Sulu began defending their position, firing on the colonists that were closing in on them, dropping them two by two. Under their cover fire, Jim ran where the marks in the dirt lead, circling the building they had just exited. There, on the ground unconscious, was the man he had been looking for. He dropped to his knees with a breathy cry of 'Bones' and checked to make certain the man was still breathing.

He was, but shallowly. Jim rolled him over until he was half laying in the Captain's lap, allowing Jim to see the bleeding wound on his chest. The Doctor's hand was covered in blood, most likely from trying to stop the bleeding, until he had lost consciousness and let go. Jim took over as best he could, attempting to stop what bleeding he could with his own bare hand. Meanwhile, his eyes scanned around him, ears pricked to the sounds of distant phaser fire. He had dropped his phaser rifle when he'd seen Bones and now pulled his hand weapon off his belt, holding it at the ready, ready to defend the man laying against him.

“I should have never let you come alone,” he muttered to himself. “I should have known better than to take the chance, to hell with orders. Hang on, baby, I'm getting us out of here, alive.”

Jim held him tighter as he fumbled his communicator off of his belt.

“Kirk to Enterprise. I've got Dr. McCoy. Beam us up and send medical to meet us in the transporter room.”

Kirk only relaxed when he felt the transporter grab onto him and the man in his lap, dissolving them and taking them away from the planet.

*~*~*~*

Leonard woke up slowly to distant voices and a bright, white light shining through his eyelids. For a brief moment, he thought he was dead. But then he registered the pain that was creeping into the edges of the painkillers as they began to wear off, the voice of his head nurse separated from the rest of the chatter and the pressure of someone holding his hand. He sighed, content to rest for just a few more moments before reality came crashing in and he had to face what ever it was that had happened to him this time.

The hand gripping his left and he frowned in disappointment. That had been nice. Probably one of his nurses. Christopher or La'Maya, considering the broadness of the hand holding his, the one that was now on his forehead, brushing his hair back. The fingers raking over his scalp felt good, but he made a mental note to talk to his nurses about being too familiar with their patients. It was alright since he worked with them and they were pretty much family, but it felt a little too intimate just the same.

“Christine?” he heard Jim, awfully close by. So close, Leonard realized he probably didn't have to have that talk with his nurses, after all. “He's waking up.”

The hand left completely and he caught himself groaning in disappointment. Then his eyelid was being pried open and a light shone directly in one eye. He huffed and slapped the light away.

“Oh yeah, he's awake,” the sardonic voice of Nurse Chapel announced.

“Damn it, woman, there are better ways of doing that,” he croaked out.

“Not according to you,” she replied as she lifted the head of his bed so he was reclined and continued to poke and prod at him. “That chest wound healed up nicely, but you're going to be sore for another day or two. You need to take that time off.”

“Oh really?”

“Don't make me get Dr. M'Benga. He was talking about bed rest, here in Sick Bay, for two days and another two days in your quarters. He just hasn't entered anything. If I enter something he's unlikely to change it, just take my word for it. What's it gonna be?”

“Yes, Nurse. Two days, in my quarters, taking it easy.”

“Thank you, Doctor. You can give him that water, Captain.”

Leonard finally turned to look at the man next to him who was maneuvering the straw of the water cup towards his mouth with a care that seemed foreign from the normally energetic man. He looked tired. There were circles under his eyes and the creases of his face that normally were only seen in laughter were deeply prevalent. He looked haggard in a way Leonard had never seen him. He took his sip of water without taking his eyes off his friend.

“Jim, when's the last time you slept?” he asked once he pushed the straw out of his mouth.

“I've only missed one night... I think,” he shrugged. “I do that all the time on missions.”

“Maybe, but you look so much worse.”

“Gee, thanks, Bones,” he replied with a small, sardonic smile.

“What the hell happened on the colony?” the doctor asked instead of what he really wanted to ask.

“A faction had split off a few months ago,” Jim replied, scowl deepening. “It's the same old story. A disagreement over leadership, a new contender, a split from the main colony, taking his followers with him to settle over the ridge, a couple of kilometers away. But instead of informing the Federation, they pretended everything was fine. The main colony was worried the whole thing would be disbanded and the new faction was worried that they wouldn't get any support, so they were fighting over resources instead of asking for separate supplies. Stupid, stupid people. Fifty two needless deaths because of those selfish idiots.”

McCoy nodded in agreement, noticing how his friend's face had changed from sad to angry and back again. This wasn't about the colony; not entirely.

“What happened with the ambassadors?” he asked, almost dreading the answer.

“Dropped off this morning,” the captain announced, finally smiling. “So glad they're gone. So is Spock. He won't say so, of course, not in so many words, but he's a lot more relaxed now that they're gone.”

Leonard huffed his own laugh over that. Only Jim, well, and Uhura, could tell when Spock was tense or relaxed. He had learned to read the Vulcan a lot better over the years, but that was still a little too subtle for him. So the ambassadors weren't the problem. He'd have to ask directly, then, since he couldn't suss it out on his own.

“What's wrong?”

Jim looked at him for a long time. So long, Leonard wasn't sure he was going to answer, thought he was going to be blown off, told there was nothing wrong, that he was just tired. But that's not what happened. Much to the doctor's surprise, the captain's eyes grew bright with moisture and a single, heavy tear streaked down his face and off his jaw, landing wetly on Leonard's blanket as Jim closed his eyes.

“I almost lost you,” he admitted. “It was just a routine mission. You should have been safe. But I almost lost you anyhow.”

“That's our job,” Leonard sighed, reaching over to retake his hand. “We're always putting ourselves in danger. We never know what's going to happen out here in the unknown. How many times have we gone through this before? How many times have you been on a planet and I'm up here, distracting myself with inventory, trying not to think of the million ways things could go wrong with that landing party? Why was this so different?”

“I have security teams,” Jim hissed angrily. “You're talking about unknown situations where we go in with phasers and armed security. YOU were ALONE. You were supposed to be on a safe, Federation colony! And... and...”

“And what, Jim?”

“And I have always gone into dangerous situations with a clear conscious and no regrets.” Jim dropped his eyes to where Leonard was holding his hand in a comforting gesture. He lifted his other to cup the doctor's hand in both of his, still not meeting his eyes, still keeping his eyes on their joined hands. “But lately, I worry, that if one of us doesn't make it back, I will be living with regret, or dying with it.”

“What do you mean?” Leonard encouraged gently when it seemed Jim wouldn't continue.

Kirk suddenly let go of his friend's hand and stood.

“You need to rest. This isn't the time, or place, for this. We'll talk soon, promise.”

“Jim, wait,” Leonard protested at he hurried out the door, not looking back. Trying to sit up more, the doctor ended up laying back instead of getting up to go after the other man as he intended, grumbling in pain. “Damn it, Jim!”


	3. Three

With the help of a milder painkiller, Leonard made his way through the corridors of the ship back to his room two hours after Jim had left him. Because the doctor being trapped on the planet's surface in the middle of a fire fight had been a ship wide emergency, everyone knew he had been injured, so along the way he was stopped with questions of how he was feeling, hugs from his closer friends and offers of help from everyone who noticed he was moving slower than normal. Still, he managed to get back to his quarters unscathed, and blessedly alone.

“Damn it, Jim!” he had reason to exclaim once more when he keyed open his door and found the man sitting on his sofa nursing a glass of burbon. “You nearly gave me a heart attack. What are you doing sitting in my quarters, drinking my alcohol, in the dark?”

“I promised we'd talk later.”

“Well forgive me for thinking you meant much later,” Leonard snarked, “or never.”

“What's got you so pissy?” the captain asked, irritated. “It's not like I never just show up, let myself in and help myself. You do it to me, too. This? This is normal. You're acting like I've grown two heads.”

“Saints above, don't you dare go doing that. I can't handle two of you being all cryptic and then running away.”

Jim's expression softened and then patted the seat beside him. Rolling his eyes but also losing his ire, Leonard joined him on the sofa, leaning back with a sigh of relief.

“Should you really be out of Sickbay?”

Leonard replied by looking at him with a raised eyebrow. 

“Right, not one to talk. I wanted to finish what I started, just not in Sickbay, with you laid up. This still may not be the best time, but I was talking about living, or not, with regrets, and an emergency on this ship could happen at any moment. I have to tell you something, and no matter what the outcome, I'll rest easier. I'll be able to go on missions and send you off on your missions without the burden of what ifs.

“I don't know exactly when it happened, but my feelings for you have changed. You're still my best friend, the one person I can depend completely on and share all of my thoughts and feelings. I hope that never changes. But I also find, that, I love you. I think about you all the time and not the same way I did even a couple of years ago. I'm not interested in other people. I haven't felt like engaging in my old activities. I'd rather sit here with you talking or just in silence than find my next sexual conquest.

“Don't get me wrong, I want you. I want to be your friend, your partner, your lover... all of it. But, I realize that's not the relationship we've ever had. There has never been more than what's between us now, and if that's the way it needs to stay, then good, I can live with that. I just need you to do me a favor and think it over. Think about if this is something that we can maybe do, maybe change. Personally, I think we'd be good together, but I can understand your concerns and I can also understand if there's just a basic lack of interest in changing our relationship. If you want to keep things the way they are, then let's do that, and not worry about anything I've just said.”

Leonard sat there stunned.

“How long have you been practicing that?” he finally asked.

“The last day and a half,” Jim laughed, nervously running a hand through his hair. “Did it fall apart at the end? I think it fell apart at the end.”

“Maybe a little. You almost started rambling, but not quite. But you got your point across very well. I think it was good.”

“Yeah? I've been working on my speaking skills. Need to be able to make impromptu speeches to the crew sometimes.”

“Not something you need to worry about, you've always been good at that.”

“I feel like we're avoiding.”

“Nah, just needed time to figure out what I should say.”

“Figure it out?”

“What to say? No. Actually, I've figured out that I have no idea what I could possibly say that wouldn't be expressed better non-verbally.”

With that, Leonard, who had managed to sit up and slide closer to his friend while speaking, grabbed himself a handful of gold tunic and tugged, pulling his friend flush against him and pressing his mouth over the surprised captain's. Jim got with the program quickly, tangling his hands in dark, soft hair and moaning, opening his mouth under McCoy's. Taking the hint, the doctor opened his own and sucked at his lips and questing tongue. He wrapped his own arms around Jim's waist and pulled until he was straddling his lap. They broke apart when the need to breath became too much to ignore.

“Glad you still chose to use your mouth, at least,” the captain grinned.

“Well, I'm not good with all the flowery words like you are.”

“Now, see, I always thought that was the opposite. You're good with the words, and I'm a man of action.”

“I guess this means you're right.”

“How so?”

“We are good together.”

Jim rolled his hips with a wicked grin, effectively stopping the conversation. Leonard groaned and dropped his head onto the back of the sofa, exposing the long column of his neck. Jim took advantage of this by pressing his face into his neck, sniffing behind his ear in an animalistic need to scent, then gently kissing and nipping at the skin on offer, pulling moans and sighs from the man beneath him. He continued to rhythmically roll his hips, lightheaded with the thrill of the first feel of his best friend's hardening length against his own. He had fantasized about that moment often, but the reality was so much better. With great effort, he pulled back.

“Should we go on a date, first?” 

“Huh?” Leonard replied mindlessly, opening lust blown eyes.

“Um,” Jim really tried to focus, but couldn't help pressing their hips together again. “Um, a date? Shouldn't we date before sex? Since it's not just that?”

“Where? The mess hall? The rec room?”

“OK, I see your point. Oh, I know! We're scheduled for shore leave in three months! We're going to a planet with a real, Earth style amusement park!”

“Are you kidding me?” Leonard asked in surprise, eyes clearing up enough to focus on the man in his lap. “You want to wait three months before we finally have sex? You?”

“Yeah, you're worth it.”

Leonard smiled at that, dimples flashing and eyes sparkling. He pulled Jim back down to him, kissing him gently with genuine feeling. When they parted, they didn't move very far, pressing their foreheads together and bumping noses. Finally, though, Leonard pulled back enough to look Jim in the eyes without going cross eyed.

“You have been putting out on first dates since I've known you,” he said lowly, all but whispering, his breath hot across Jim's mouth. “Now, that I finally have you grinding in my lap, telling me you want to give me everything I've ever wanted from you, you want to wait three months before we have sex? I mean, I'm not going to pressure you or anything, but...”

“But if I stop right now you're going to lose your mind? Or kill me?” Jim laughed, ripping both of his shirts off over his head at once. “I'll throw myself out the airlock if I try to go through with that. Damn it, I've wanted you too long to stop this now.”

He helped Leonard off with his own shirts and then quickly undid both of their pants, pressing himself against the other man again. Arousals, now bare, slid hotly together, causing them both to gasp. Jim buried his hands in Leonard's hair, tilting his head back again, and sealed their mouths together, their lips and tongues sliding slickly together as their cocks did the same.

It was never going to take long or be done with any finesse. Both men were too far gone for their first time to be anything but a race to the finish line. Kirk was first, biting harshly at McCoy's bottom lip as his hips stuttered and he came hotly between them, slicking their groins and stomachs and pushing McCoy over the edge with him, adding his own slick to the mess. They pulled back from each other's mouths enough to breath, panting across each other's wet, swollen lips.

“Ow,” McCoy huffed.

“What?” Kirk squinted at him, still breathing hard. “Bones? Are you OK, baby?”

“Ugh,” Leonard leaned back against the sofa and pressed a hand to his chest, giving a little laugh. “It was worth it.”

“Damn it, Bones, I'm an idiot.”

“Not gonna argue. But I'm fine, just a little sore. Get your heavy ass off a me and help me up.”

Jim did, helping him undress and into the shower, arguing the entire way.

“We really should have waited,” the younger man sighed. “You still have a couple of days of healing ahead of you. We could have cuddled.”

“Damn it, Jim, I'm the doctor, here! I can make the decision of what I'm medically ready for.”

“If our positions were reversed, you'd have my hide for this.”

“That's because you're not a doctor, you're the captain of some souped up tin can”

“Excuse me?”

“I'm sorry. Maybe I did push myself too far. But I know that because I'm the doctor!”

“Yeah, let's get you in bed.”

“Um, are you gonna stay?”

“No where else I'd rather be.”

They both slid into standard issue boxers and Jim helped Leonard into bed before throwing their uniform trousers into the 'cycler and laying his tunic out on a chair, keeping it from being a wrinkled ball on the floor. He slid in next to his new lover, new partner, and gently wrapped an arm around his torso, kissing him on the temple.

“Wanna go on shore leave with me?” he asked quietly.

“You know I do,” Bones yawned, then turned his head to kiss Jim on the forehead. “I followed you into space, of course I'll follow you into an amusement park.”

Jim smiled softly as he watched the love of his life's eyes flutter shut and fall asleep. He followed soon after, holding back the tears that had been threatening ever since he found out his Bones would be fine, and then that he loved him back. Grateful tears, for everything he wasn't sure he deserved, but he damn well was going to take.


	4. Epilogue

The line seemed to be a mile long. Leonard stood beside Jim, both in ridiculous (in Leonard's opinion) shorts and thin T-shirts, both necessary on a planet that was slightly hotter than his home in Georgia in July. Thankfully it wasn't unbearably humid, but the doctor was still rather miserable, doing nothing but waiting for nearly a Standard hour for the line to the roller coaster to move them to the front. They waited, pinkies hooked together because it was too hot to properly hold hands, while Jim bounced in excitement.

Leonard had to admit it was worth it, though. His boyfriend had been getting more and more excited the closer they came to shore leave. That had translated well in the bedroom, but not really anywhere else. Having a quiet dinner had been neigh on impossible in the last two weeks. He was glad they were finally there and getting ready to get on the one ride in the whole park that Jim was practically vibrating to get on.

Finally, it was their turn. The attendant ushered them into the next two side by side seats and carefully strapped them in. Leonard was suddenly alarmed to note that it wasn't the standard safety bar of the roller coasters he was used to on Earth. They were being strapped in with five point safety harnesses as well as straps over their thighs and upper arms. Once the restraints had been tightened almost to the point of discomfort, the attendant hit a button and the seats expanded around them, the soft material forming around their bodies and heads to make a perfect impression of them. Leonard couldn't turn his head to look at Jim, but he did feel Jim's fingers brush his and found he could move his hand enough to take his lover's in a firm grip.

“Jim? Why are we strapped in so tightly?”

“Fastest roller coaster in the galaxy, tolerable to Humans,” Jim replied casually. “Not sure we're actually going to feel the zero G affect strapped in like this, but Sulu said he nearly wet himself so it should be awesome.”

“Wait, what?! SULU nearly wet himself?”

“Chekov threw up.”

“Fuck you, Jim. Fuck you very much! Why would you bring me on this damn thing -”

“Oh my god, I'm kidding Bones,” Jim had the nerve to laugh. “Sulu warned me not to have a full bladder. He nearly wet himself because of the affects of the coaster, not from fear. He said we've been through much worse on ship. And Chekov had been drinking all night and then stuffed himself with fair food all day before he went on. His stomach just finally gave up. I would never, never put you on something that terrifying for entertainment. They over do the restraints because of liability.”

“Oh, sorry,” Leonard said, squeezing the hand in his as the ride began to move.

“It's OK, that's the reaction I was looking for,” Jim laughed. “But, seriously, knowing what happened on your sims in the Academy, you are probably going to pass out before the ride's over.”

“What!?”

The ride picked up some serious momentum as it went over the first drop, and Bones could suddenly see the expanse of the ride, how steep all the other drops were, the number of loops and how the track twisted and turned in ways that didn't seem to jive with physics. As they crested a much larger drop he could hear Jim yelling at him in a happy, gleeful voice; and he couldn't help loving him just a little bit more.

“Hang on, baby!”

The End


End file.
